


costumes, conversations, and crowns

by ChemicallyEnhanced



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Adventure Time 2017 Spooktacular, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:14:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22482385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChemicallyEnhanced/pseuds/ChemicallyEnhanced
Summary: What I think would have happened if Butterscotch Butler never interrupted.
Relationships: Prince Gumball & Marshall Lee, Prince Gumball/Marshall Lee
Comments: 8
Kudos: 106





	costumes, conversations, and crowns

Their hands bump into each other while trying to pick up one of the books that Marshall had so unceremoniously kicked to the floor in his anger. Jerking back instinctively, Gumball glances up to see the Vampire King significantly closer to him than he was before, albeit upside down. Still, his eyes widen just slightly at the realization.

“I—“

“Hey listen—“

A muffled noise from outside the door interrupts the two of them, and they freeze up, startled, before the noise happens again, but from farther away. Silence reigns for a few moments while they wait to see if there’re any other noises and, when there aren’t, they let out awkward laughs when they accidentally meet each other’s eyes.

“Um—“ Gumball tries.

“So like—“ Marshall starts in the same breath.

Startling, Gumball closes his mouth against all the words he wants to say and turns away with a bitter smile. He begins picking up his papers in silence instead, a cold stone of disappointment dropping in his stomach. His eyes skim over half-finished bills, scribbled experiments, and a few other various pieces of paper, and he feels the weight of Crown Prince settle upon him once more.

It’s strange, though, that Marshall hasn’t said anything in the last minute; normally the other male is bursting with energy, unable to sit still for more than a few seconds at a time. _Like a child,_ the part of his mind that still resents Marshall for their past comments spitefully.

After another twenty seconds of heavy silence, Gumball finally looks up from his not-paper-sorting and feels his heart lurch in his chest. Marshall’s picked up one of the books he purposely kicked off the desk and wouldn’t it just be Gumball’s luck that it happens to be his personal journal? _Diary_ , Butterscotch Butler coughs in his head.

“Give that back!” Gumball shouts without a second thought, leaping to his feet.

Marshall’s eyes light up in understanding, and he drifts effortlessly out of Gumball’s reach with an unkind laugh. “Oh, you mean this?” He waves the journal and smirks. “Why? Is it that important to you?”

“I don’t need to tell you anything,” Gumball says, panic still gripping his chest. _If he were to read what’s inside…_ “Just give it back to me.”

“Eh…” Marshall pretends to think before shrugging. “Nah, I think I might keep this for a little.” His smirk widens and the gleam in his eyes brightens with the desire to cause trouble. “Who _knows_ what secrets Your Majesty is keeping?”

Gumball struggles to keep from pleading for his journal back like a child but manages to push his anger down with the self-control borne from being the Crown Prince. He clenches his hands and says coolly, “I don’t have time for this. I need to get back to the ball; what you decide to do after this is no concern of mine.” He spares a moment to relish in the perfect look of surprise on Marshall’s face before walking past him with determination. He will _not_ allow Marshall Lee to ruin this any longer. Not again.

“Hey, what?” Marshall demands from behind him, tossing the journal aside with a light _thump_. Gumball doesn’t stop moving, hoping that his indifference will cause Marshall to get bored and leave. “No you—stop!” With a sudden jolt, Gumball feels his wrist get trapped in the cold, clammy hand of the Vampire King.

He turns to level Marshall with a glare. “Let go of me. How dare you—”

“No, how dare _you_!” Marshall yells, eyes blazing. “You invite me to your stupid ball, which I didn’t even want to go to in the first place, and then you basically kick me out and get angry at _me_ for not doing exactly what you want! Well, news flash, _Gumwad_ ,” he tightens his grip on Gumball’s wrist until it starts to hurt, “I do what I want, and nobody can stop me.”

Gumball’s temper hasn’t risen, no, it’s dropped straight into the ground, and he wonders, not for the first time, why they keep on doing this. After another heavy silence, he asks, firmly, “Are you done?”

Glaring, Marshall finally lets go of Gumball’s wrist and crosses his arms. Oddly enough, he hasn’t exploded like he normally does. “I’m not a toy you can play with, Gumball.” Gumball lets the sound of Marshall saying his actual name roll around in his head for a bit before he continues, “I mean it when I said I do what I want, but even I have my limits. Stop doing this.”

Eyes widening, Gumball is only able to stare at Marshall for several long moments. For _centuries_ , they’ve snapped and fought and resented each other, unable to find another way to resolve their shared past but unwilling to do anything different. After a while, they’d forgotten how to act any other way towards each other, and the last few decades have almost been like clockwork, like routine. Somehow bump into one another, mock, fight, retreat. Rinse and repeat.

And now Marshall is saying to stop…to stop what? Fighting? Going at each other’s throats until there’s nothing left to say?

“What…” Gumball begins, voice hoarse. Again, more certain, “What do you propose we do, then? Nothing’s changed between us in nearly three centuries.”

Marshall shrugs, lowering himself until his feet have touched the ground. He sticks his hands into his pockets, messing up the line of his ‘suit’. “I’m just as lost as you are here, Your Majesty. I’ve never had to deal with someone who—”

“Who…?”

“Nothing, never mind.” Marshall rolls his eyes, rocks back on his heels. “Start over?” He tries, lip twitching.

Gumball lets out a rueful laugh, suddenly embarrassed. “Do you think that would work, what with…” He gestures vaguely, trying to encompass everything they’ve been through.

“Nah, that’s a terrible idea,” Marshall scoffs, then smiles tentatively.

“Then…” Gumball says slowly, something in his chest lighting up at the idea, “let’s just…start right now. Do things differently.”

“How different?”

Gumball’s heart thumps heavily at the faintly teasing edge to Marshall’s smile, and he remembers what they had been about to do before all of this, why they had drifted so close to each other… “Just—different,” he says, throat tight. He hasn’t thought about it much for a long time, but the feelings he had buried so deep inside him after the Incident begin to stir once more. “Deal?”

He wills himself not to blush when Marshall smirks, leans in close, and promises, “Deal.”

Slightly dazed, Gumball doesn’t even notice the loss of weight on his head until he reaches up to fix his hair and realizes his crown is gone. He turns, alarmed, and sees that Marshall is hovering behind him now, carelessly holding the crown in his fingers. “Marshall Lee!”

Marshall tosses the crown up and catches it easily, laughing. “It’s too easy to tease you, Your Majesty! Come and get it back.”

The challenge in his eyes is too tempting, and Gumball scowls at him before succumbing to his urge to smile, knowing that _something_ has changed between the two of them, small as it is. “Don’t make me call Fionna away from the ball.”

Marshall only laughs again and floats away, but Gumball feels as though he is closer than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @ukiyosen


End file.
